SINGAPORE - He remembers attending his elder brother's Officer Cadet Commissioning Parade when he was still a teen.

Since then, he made it his goal to get into the Officer Cadet School (OCS).

Second Lieutenant (2LT) K Arjunan, 21, said: "It was not only the parade. After seeing how my brother has changed in terms of maturity, the way he thinks, and the way he carries himself, I knew that the Army has changed him positively.

"I wanted to experience what my brother had experienced, and learn from it. My brother has also taught me how to be a good soldier. I wanted to follow in his footsteps and be a good leader too."

He got into the school in June last year.

And on Saturday (June 11), 2LT Arjunan was among the 417 cadets who graduated.

The cadets' guests were invited to affix the new epaulettes on them during the graduating parade at the Safti Military Institute in Joo Koon.

2LT Arjunan's proud parents did the honours.

It was the first fully centralised outdoor graduation parade held since the Covid-19 pandemic, and cadets could invite up to four fully vaccinated guests.

Throughout the parade, the ambience remained lively and high-spirited. Loud applause and cheers were heard when each formation marched on to the parade square.

During the pandemic, the graduation commissioning ceremonies were decentralised, and organised at the formation level.

Then, each cadet could only invite two fully vaccinated guests, and they had to test negative for Covid-19 before the event.

Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs Mohamad Maliki Osman, the reviewing officer on Saturday, said: "Even as Singapore transitions towards Covid resilience, we are faced with the geopolitical uncertainties caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The conflict has also shown us that digital threats continue to grow in scale and sophistication.

"I am confident that the Singapore Armed Forces will continue to rise to meet new challenges. A strong and credible SAF is the sole guarantor for our sovereignty, peace and security."

Dr Maliki also highlighted that this year marks 55 years of National Service (NS) and reminded graduates of the critical role it plays in Singapore's defence.

He said: "NS has always been a bedrock of Singapore's defence. Since its inception in 1967, more than a million Singaporeans and permanent residents have served NS... we must remember that our military will not be able to succeed without the contributions of our NSmen.

"It is now your turn to follow in the footsteps of those before you who had shouldered the responsibility of defending Singapore, our pioneers who served NS and kept Singapore safe for the last 55 years."

Speaking to The Straits Times on the sidelines, 2LT Arjunan's family said they were extremely proud of his commission.

"This brings back memories from our elder son's parade, which was similar to this," his parents added.

2LT Arjunan said that being able to commission at such a huge parade was a fruitful and meaningful experience.

"This is like the rebirth of a culture that has been going on for so long and it feels great," he said.